


Whumptober 2019 - 25 - Humiliation

by OllieCollie



Series: Whumptober 2019 [25]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Fireworks, Flashback, Fourth of July, Gen, PTSD, Panic Attack, Whump, broment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 12:08:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21179162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OllieCollie/pseuds/OllieCollie
Summary: There was a roar in his ears, and fear grabbed hold of him. Suddenly, he couldn't seem to breathe properly.





	Whumptober 2019 - 25 - Humiliation

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying Whumptober. We're in the home stretch, I just need to scrape together whatever motivation I have left. Hopefully it will be enough. XD
> 
> Comments make my day and give me the energy I need to keep writing, so if you have a minute to spare, drop one!
> 
> Thanks for reading, y'all!

It really wasn't a big deal. The Fourth of July on the beach. Away from the public beaches and partying crowds. Just him and his ohana—along with two monster dogs. 

They had made plans to grill and chill the whole night, which was a win in Thomas Magnum's book. 

So no, it wasn't a big deal. Just a fun night hanging out. At least that's what he told himself. 

As the night progressed, however, the bad feeling that had been building up in the pit of his stomach all day was now turning in knots—and he couldn't figure out _ why. _

He'd joked around with Rick and T.C. about which one of them made the best burgers, argued with Higgins over...well, basically everything, and kept a wary eye on Zeus and Apollo throughout the evening. 

Currently, he was gasping for air in the few split seconds he had before he was dunked back under the salty ocean water. He fought against the hands that held him under, keeping calm and collected as he drove his foot into his attacker's knee. The distraction allowed him the ability to pull an arm free, latch onto the opponent's wrist, and twist. Even from underneath the ocean's surface, he heard a satisfying muffled yelp of pain as the other hand released him.

"Ha!" Thomas grinned triumphantly as he popped above the water, chest heaving as he sucked in air. "Nice try."

T.C. grunted and took a swipe at the private investigator, who easily ducked the half-hearted swing. "You know I'm letting you win."

A few feet away, Rick chuckled, watching as Thomas lunged at their friend, sending them both underwater with a colossal splash. "You two are such kids."

"Oh, don't you start with me, Orville," T.C. shot back as he popped up above the surface. 

Thomas grinned when T.C. went after Rick, wrestling him under the water much like he'd done to Thomas just minutes before.

"Come on, boys! Kumu called from the shore. She held up a bag of marshmallows. "Those s'mores are just waiting to be made!"

"Coming, Kumu!" Thomas hollered back. The three men made their way toward the beach, shoving at each other and laughing as they went.

Thomas shook his head hard, flinging water from his hair.

Higgins eyed him and made a comment about how for as much as he dislikes the lads, he certainly picked up their habits quite well. He wisely chose to ignore her, grabbing a towel and rubbing it over his wet hair as he moved to where the array of marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers were set out.

By that point, the sun had set and the sky was quickly darkening. Rick was by the fire pit, arguing with T.C. over the fact that burned marshmallows, in fact, were the equivalent of eating ashes.

Higgins, who was currently sitting in a chair near the fire, glanced up. "The fireworks ought to be starting any minute now."

_ Fireworks. _The word sent a chill up Thomas's spine, despite the warm night air. He couldn't really explain why. 

A sudden pop interrupted the group's conversation, signaling the start of what was likely to be a long night full of colorful displays.

Thomas felt all the air rush out of his lungs at the first explosions. His hand clenched into fists. _ Crap. No, no, I'm fine, _ he told himself. _ Seriously, it's just fireworks. _

His mind, however, wasn't listening. There was a roar in his ears, and fear grabbed hold of him. Suddenly, he couldn't seem to breathe properly.

"Thomas?" Someone's voice broke through the noise as another round of fireworks went off nearby. "Are you all right?"

The man blinked, the worried faces surrounding him coming into focus.

"I'm—sorry," he choked out. "I gotta...go."

He whirled and took off running, not caring where his feet took him. He just needed to get _ out _of there.

Magnum wound his way up the beach, through the yard, and around the back of the guesthouse. His legs gave out, and he slid against the wall to the ground, his breaths coming in heaving gasps. He squeezed his eyes shut as more fireworks exploded.

What had happened? He should be over it by now. He'd been fine on New Year's Eve—why was tonight different?

Of course, he knew there wasn't necessarily a rhyme or reason to what triggered an attack when. But really? Tonight, with the others looking on as he'd freaked out over a few fireworks? Humiliation wasn't a word Thomas used regularly—if ever—but tonight was a good time to pull it out of the vocabulary. _ Stupid. _

To make things worse, he couldn't freakin' _ stop _ shaking. _ It's fine, I'm fine, _he reassured himself. 

Footsteps approached, a sound Thomas immediately picked up on due to his amped up senses. He groaned. The last thing he needed was someone chasing after him. 

"Thomas, buddy?" Rick appeared in Magnum's peripheral vision.

Thomas kept his eyes straight ahead. He was still desperately trying to control his breathing, trying to keep from losing whatever sanity he had left. A locked-up memory broke free and taunted him. He growled in displeasure. _ Sand. Gunshots. Bodies. Lots of bodies. _

A hand on his shoulder caused him to jolt like he'd been struck by a bolt of lighting.

"Hey," Rick soothed. "Look at me."

They worked through their grounding technique that they'd all used at various times over the years. Naming things they could see, smell, feel...counting down slowly from a random number—eight, in this particular instance—placing a hand on each other's chests and mimicking their breathing.

Finally, Thomas's head felt clear enough to focus on the present, drowning out the background noise of the fireworks. He tried to round up the lingering flashes of unwelcome memories and grimaced. "Rick—"

"You know better than to apologize, T.M.," Rick said, stopping him with a shake of the head.

"I just—that should never have happened, Rick. I never even thought about it being such a problem." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I should be over stuff like this."

Rick frowned. "Thomas, no one expects you to be okay. You know T.C. and I don't—neither does Higgins." 

"I know," he huffed out. Because he did. Heaven knew he'd had this conversation with his therapist more than once. But knowing and really believing were two very different things. 

"Higgy wanted to be the one to chase you down, but I managed to convince her to stay," Rick told him. "But she wanted me to tell you—you're not alone."

Thomas was thankful for his friends and their thoughtfulness. The idea that Higgins had seen him freak out over nothing was not an enjoyable thought. The last thing he wanted was for her to come across him having a full-blown panic attack.

"Tommy, she knows what it's like," Rick said quietly. "Nobody's judging you."

Magnum supposed his friend was right. He couldn't imagine all the things that Juliet had gone through during her time as an agent. Perhaps she did understand—more than he gave her credit for. What had happened was still rather... humiliating, though. 

The two men sat in silence for a few minutes. The fireworks didn't seem as loud and obnoxious now and Thomas wondered how they had managed to trigger such an intense attack in the first place. He let out a whoosh of air.

Rick finally spoke up. "We don't have to go back down there if you don't want." He pushed to his feet and offered a hand to his friend. "Everyone would understand."

Thomas hesitated for a second. "Nah. I'll be good," he decided. He was still a _ little _embarrassed, but his chat with Rick had him feeling a bit better. No matter what came his way, he knew that the others would stick up for him. Because that's what family did.


End file.
